E Z E K I E L.

CHAP. XXXIII.

The prophet has now come off his circuit, which he
went as judge, in God's name, to try and pass sentence upon the
neighbouring nations, and, having finished with them, and read them
all their doom, in the eight chapters foregoing, he now returns to
the children of his people, and receives further instructions what
to say to them. I. He must let them know what office he was in
among them as a prophet, that he was a watchman, and had received a
charge concerning them, for which he was accountable, ver. 1-9. The substance of this we
had before, ch. iii.
17, &c. II. He must let them know upon what terms
they stand with God, that they are upon their trial, upon their
good behaviour, that if a wicked man repent he shall not perish,
but that if a righteous man apostatize he shall perish, ver. 10-20. III. Here is a
particular message sent to those who yet remained in the land of
Israel, and (which is very strange) grew secure there, and
confident that they should take root there again, to tell them that
their hopes would fail them because they persisted in their sins,
ver. 21-29. IV. Here is
a rebuke to those who personally attended Ezekiel's ministry, but
were not sincere in their professions of devotion, ver. 30-33.

The Watchman's Office; The Prophet a
Watchman to Israel. (b. c. 587.)

1 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man,
speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I
bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man
of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: 3 If when
he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and
warn the people; 4 Then whosoever heareth the sound of the
trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him
away, his blood shall be upon his own head. 5 He heard the
sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon
him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. 6
But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet,
and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take
any person from among them, he is taken away in his
iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.
7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the
house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth,
and warn them from me. 8 When I say unto the wicked, O
wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to
warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in
his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. 9
Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it;
if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but
thou hast delivered thy soul.

The prophet had been, by express order from
God, taken off from prophesying to the Jews, just then when the
news came that Jerusalem was invested, and close siege laid to it,
ch. xxiv. 27. But
now that Jerusalem is taken, two years after, he is appointed again
to direct his speech to them; and there his commission is renewed.
If God had abandoned them quite, he would not have sent prophets to
them; nor, if he had not had mercy in store for them, would he have
shown them such things as these. In these verses we
have,

I. The office of a watchman laid down, the
trust reposed in him, the charge given him, and the conditions
adjusted between him and those that employ him, v. 2, 6. 1. It is supposed to be a
public danger that gives occasion for the appointing of a
watchman—when God brings the sword upon a land, v. 2. The sword of war,
whenever it comes upon a land, is of God's bringing; it is the
sword of the Lord, of his justice, how unjustly soever men
draw it. At such a time, when a country is in fear of a foreign
invasion, that they may be informed of all the motions of the
enemy, may not be surprised with an attack, but may have early
notice of it, in order to their being at their arms and in
readiness to give the invader a warm reception, they set a man
of their coast, some likely person, that lives upon the borders
of their country, where the threatened danger is expected, and is
therefore well acquainted with all the avenues of it, and make him
their watchman. Thus wise are the children of this
world in their generation. Note, One man may be of public
service to a whole country. Princes and statesmen are the watchmen
of a kingdom; they are continually to employ themselves, and, if
occasion be, as watchmen, to expose themselves for the public
safety. 2. It is supposed to be a public trust that is lodged in
the watchman and that he is accountable to the public for the
discharge of it. His business is, (1.) To discover the approaches
and advances of the enemy; and therefore he must not be blind nor
asleep, for then he cannot see the sword coming. (2.) To
give notice of them immediately by sound of trumpet, or, as
sentinels among us, by the discharge of a gun, as a signal of
danger. A special trust and confidence is reposed in him by those
that set him to be their watchman that he will faithfully do these
two things; and they venture their lives upon his fidelity. Now,
[1.] If he do his part, if he be betimes aware of all the dangers
that fall within his cognizance, and give warning of them, he has
discharged his trust, and has not only delivered his soul,
but earned his wages. If the people do not take warning, if they
either will not believe the notice he gives them, will not believe
the danger to be so great or so near as really it is, or will not
regard it, and so are surprised by the enemy in their security, it
is their own fault; the blame is not to be laid upon the watchman,
but their blood is upon their own head. If any person goes
presumptuously into the mouth of danger, though he heard the sound
of the trumpet, and was told by it where the danger was, and so
the sword comes and takes him away in his folly, he is
felo de se—a suicide; foolish man, he has destroyed
himself. But, [2.] If the watchman do not do his duty, if he
might have seen the danger, and did not, but was asleep, or
heedless, or looking another way, or if he did see the
danger (for so the case is put here) and shifted only for his
own safety, and blew not the trumpet to warn the
people, so that some are surprised and cut off in their
iniquity (v. 6),
cut off suddenly, without having time to cry, Lord, have mercy
upon me, time to repent and make their peace with God (which
makes the matter much the worse, that the poor creature is taken
away in his iniquity), his blood shall be required at the
watchman's hand; he shall be found guilty of his death, because
he did not give him warning of his danger. But if the
watchman do his part, and the people do theirs, all is well; both
he that gives warning and he that takes warning have delivered
their souls.

1. He is a watchman to the house of
Israel. He had occasionally given warning to the nations about,
but to the house of Israel he was a watchman by office, for they
were the children of the prophets and the covenant They did
not set him for a watchman, as the people of the land,
v. 2 (for they were
not so wise for their souls as to secure the welfare of them, as
they would have been for the protection of their temporal
interests); but God did it for them; he appointed them a
watchman.

2. His business as a watchman is to give
warning to sinners of their misery and danger by reason of sin.
This is the word he must hear from God's mouth and speak
to them. (1.) God has said, The wicked man shall surely
die; he shall be miserable. Unless he repent, he shall be cut
off from God and all comfort and hope in him, shall be cut off from
all good. He shall fall and lie for ever under the wrath of God,
which is the death of the soul, as his favour is its life. The
righteous God has said it, and will never unsay it, nor can all the
world gainsay it, that the wages of sin is death. Sin, when it
is finished, brings froth death. The wrath of God is revealed
from heaven, not only against wicked nations, speaking ruin to them
as nations, but against wicked persons, speaking ruin to them in
their personal capacity, their personal interests, which pass into
the other world and last to eternity, as national interests do not.
(2.) It is the will of God that the wicked man should be warned of
this: Warn them from me. This intimates that there is a
possibility of preventing it, else it were a jest to give warning
of it; nay, and that God is desirous it should be prevented.
Sinners are therefore warned of the wrath to come, that they
may flee from it, Matt. iii.
7. (3.) It is the work of ministers to give him warning,
to say to the wicked, It shall be ill with thee, Isa. iii. 11. God ways in general,
The soul that sinneth it shall die. The minister's business
is to apply this to particular persons, and to say, "O wicked
man! thou shalt surely die, whoever thou art; if thou go on
still in thy trespasses, they will inevitably be thy ruin. O
adulterer! O robber! O drunkard! O swearer! O sabbath-breaker!
thou shalt surely die." And he must say this, not in
passion, to provoke the sinner, but in compassion, to warn the
wicked from his way, warn him to turn from it, that he
may live. This is to be done by the faithful preaching of the word
in public, and by personal application to those whose sins are
open.

3. If souls perish through his neglect of
his duty, he brings guilt upon himself. "If the prophet do not warn
the wicked of the ruin that is at the end of his wicked way, that
wicked man shall die in his iniquity; for, though the
watchman did not do his part, yet the sinner might have taken
warning from the written word, from his own conscience, and from
God's judgments upon others, by which his mouth shall be stopped,
and God will be justified in his destruction." Note, It will not
serve impenitent sinners to plead in the great day that their
watchmen did not give them warning, that they were careless and
unfaithful; for, though they were so, it will be made to appear
that God left not himself without witness. "But he shall not
perish alone in his iniquity; the watchman also shall be called to
an account: His blood will I require at thy hand. The blind
leader shall fall with the blind follower into the ditch." See what
a desire God has of the salvation of sinners, in that he resents it
so ill if those concerned do not what they can to prevent their
destruction. And see what a great deal those ministers have to
answer for another day who palliate sin, and flatter sinners in
their evil way, and by their wicked lives countenance and harden
them in their wickedness, and encourage them to believe that they
shall have peace though they go on.

4. If he do his duty, he may take the
comfort of it, though he do not see the success of it (v. 9): "If thou warn the
wicked of his way, if thou tell him faithfully what will be the
end thereof, and call him earnestly to turn from it, and he do not
turn, but persist in it, he shall die in his iniquity, and
the fair warning given him will be an aggravation of his sin and
ruin; but thou hast delivered thy soul." Note, It is a
comfort to ministers that they may through grace save themselves,
though they cannot be instrumental to save so many as they wish of
those that hear them.

The Cavils of the People
Answered. (b. c. 587.)

10 Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the
house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and
our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we
then live? 11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the
Lord God, I have no pleasure in the
death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and
live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O
house of Israel? 12 Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the
children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall
not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the
wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that
he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able
to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth.
13 When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall
surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit
iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for
his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. 14
Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he
turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; 15
If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had
robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity;
he shall surely live, he shall not die. 16 None of his sins
that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done
that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live. 17 Yet
the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal:
but as for them, their way is not equal. 18 When the
righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity,
he shall even die thereby. 19 But if the wicked turn from
his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall
live thereby. 20 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not
equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his
ways.

These verses are the substance of what we
had before (ch. xviii.
20, &c.) and they are so full and express a
declaration of the terms on which people stand with God (as the
former were of the terms on which ministers stand) that it is no
wonder that they are here repeated, as those were, though we had
the substance of them before. Observe here,

I. The cavils of the people against God's
proceedings with them. God was now in his providence contending
with them, but their uncircumcised hearts were not as yet humbled,
for they were industrious to justify themselves, though thereby
they reflected on God. Two things they insisted upon, in their
reproaches of God, and in both they added iniquity to their sin and
misery to their punishment:—1. They quarrelled with his promises
and favours, as having no kindness nor sincerity in them, v. 10. God had set life
before them, but they plead that he had set it out of their
reach, and therefore did but mock them with the mention of it. The
prophet had said, some time ago (ch. xxiv. 23), You shall pine away
for your iniquities; with that word he had concluded his
threatenings against Judah and Jerusalem; and this they now
upbraided him with, as if it had been spoken absolutely, to drive
them to despair; whereas it was spoken conditionally, to bring them
to repentance. Thus are the sayings of God's ministers perverted by
men of corrupt minds, who are inclined to pick quarrels. He puts
them in hopes of life and happiness; and herein they would make him
contradict himself; "for" (say they) "if our transgressions and
our sins be upon us, as thou hast often told us they are, and
if we must, as thou sayest, pine away in them, and wear out
a miserable captivity in a fruitless repentance, how shall we
then live? If this be our doom, there is no remedy. We die,
we perish, we all perish." Note, It is very common for those
that have been hardened with presumption when they were warned
against sin to sink into despair when they are called to repent,
and to conclude there is no hope of life for them. 2. They
quarrelled with his threatenings and judgments, as having no
justice or equity in them. They said, The way of the Lord is not
equal (v. 17,
20), suggesting that God was partial in his proceedings,
that with him there was respect of persons and that he was more
severe against sin and sinners than there was cause.

II. Here is a satisfactory answer given to
both these cavils.

1. Those that despaired of finding mercy
with God are here answered with a solemn declaration of God's
readiness to show mercy, v.
11. When they spoke of pining away in their
iniquity God sent the prophet to them, with all speed, to tell
them that though their case was sad it was not desperate, but there
was yet hope in Israel. (1.) It is certain that God has no
delight in the ruin of sinners, nor does he desire it. If they will
destroy themselves, he will glorify himself in it, but he has no
pleasure in it, but would rather they should turn and live,
for his goodness is that attribute of his which is most his glory,
which is most his delight. He would rather sinners should turn and
live than go on and die. He has said it, he has sworn it, that by
these two immutable things, in both which it is impossible for God
to lie, we might have strong consolation. We have his word and his
oath; and, since he could swear by no greater, he swears by
himself: As I live. They questioned whether they should
live, though they did repent and reform; yea, says God, as
sure as I live, true penitents shall live also; for their
life is hid with Christ in God. (2.) It is certain that God is
sincere and in earnest in the calls he gives sinners to repent:
Turn you, turn you, from your evil way. To repent is to turn
from our evil way; this God requires sinners to do; this he urges
them to do by repeated pressing instances: Turn you, turn
you. O that they would be prevailed with to turn, to turn
quickly, without delay! This he will enable them to do if they will
but frame their doings to turn to the Lord, Hos. v. 4. For he has said, I will
pour out my Spirit unto you, Prov.
i. 23. And in this he will accept of them; for it is not
only what he commands, but what he courts them to. (3.) It is
certain that, if sinners perish in their impenitency, it is owing
to themselves; they die because they will die; and herein they act
most absurdly and unreasonably: Why will you die, O house of
Israel? God would have heard them, and they would not be
heard.

2. Those that despaired of finding justice
with God are here answered with a solemn declaration of the rule of
judgment which God would go by in dealing with the children of men,
which carries along with it the evidence of its own equity; he that
runs may read the justice of it. The Jewish nation, as a nation,
was now dead; it was ruined to all intents and purposes. The
prophet must therefore deal with particular persons, and the rule
of judgment concerning them is much like that concerning a nation,
Jer. xviii. 8-10. If God
speak concerning it to build and to plant, and it do wickedly, he
will recall his favours and leave it to ruin. But if he speak
concerning it to pluck up and destroy, and it repent, he will
revoke the sentence and deliver it. So it is here. In short, The
most plausible professors, if they apostatize, shall certainly
perish for ever in their apostasy from God; and the most notorious
sinners, if they repent, shall certainly be happy for ever in their
return to God. This is here repeated again and again, because it
ought to be again and again considered, and preached over to our
own hearts. This was necessary to be inculcated upon this stupid
senseless people, that said, The way of the Lord is not
equal; for these rules of judgment are so plainly just that
they need no other confirmation of them than the repetition of
them.

(1.) If those that have made a great
profession of religion throw off their profession, quit the good
ways of God and grow loose and carnal, sensual and worldly, the
profession they made and all the religious performances with which
they had for a great while kept up the credit of their profession
shall stand them in no stead, but they shall certainly perish in
their iniquity, v. 12,
13, 18. [1.] God says to the righteous man that
he shall surely live, v. 13. He says it by his word, by his
ministers. He that lives regularly, his own heart tells him, his
neighbours tell him, He shall live. Surely such a man as this
cannot but be happy. And it is certain, if he proceed and persevere
in his righteousness, and if, in order to that, he be upright and
sincere in it, if he be really as good as he seems to be, he shall
live; he shall continue in the love of God and be for ever happy in
that love. [2.] Righteous men, who have very good hopes of
themselves and whom others have a very good opinion of, are yet in
danger of turning to iniquity by trusting to their righteousness.
So the case is put here: If he trust to his own righteousness,
and commit iniquity, and come to make a trade of sin—if he not
only take a false step, but turn aside into a false way and persist
in it. This may possibly be the case of a righteous man, and it is
the effect of his trusting to his own righteousness. Note, Many
eminent professors have been ruined by a proud conceitedness of
themselves and confidence in themselves. He trust to the merit of
his own righteousness, and thinks he has already made God so much
his debtor that now he may venture to commit iniquity, for he has
righteousness enough in stock to make amends for it; he fancies
that whatever evil deeds he may do hereafter he can be in no danger
from them, having so many good deeds beforehand to counterbalance
them. Or, He trust to the strength of his own righteousness, thinks
himself now so well established in a course of virtue that he may
thrust himself into any temptation and it cannot overcome him, and
so by presuming on his own sufficiency he is brought to commit
iniquity. By making bold on the confines of sin he is drawn at
length into the depths of hell. This ruined the Pharisees; they
trusted to themselves that they were righteous, and that
their long prayers, and fasting twice in the week, would atone for
their devouring widows' houses. [3.] If righteous men turn to
iniquity, and return not to their righteousness, they shall
certainly perish in their iniquity, and all the righteousness they
have formerly done, all their prayers, and all their alms, shall be
forgotten. No mention shall be made, no remembrance had, of their
good deeds; they shall be overlooked, as if they had never been.
The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him
from the wrath of God, and the curse of the law, in the day of
his transgression. When he becomes a traitor and a rebel, and
takes up arms against his rightful Sovereign, it will not serve for
him to plead in his own defence that formerly he was a loyal
subject, and did many good services to the government. No; he
shall not be able to live. The remembrance of his former
righteousness shall be no satisfaction either to God's justice or
his own conscience in the day that he sins, but rather
shall, in the estimate of both, highly aggravate the sin and folly
of his apostasy. And therefore for his iniquity that he
committed he shall die, v.
13. And again (v.
18), He shall even die thereby; and it is owing
to himself.

(2.) If those that have lived a wicked life
repent and reform, forsake their wicked ways and become religious,
their sins shall be pardoned, and they shall be justified and
saved, if they persevere in their reformation. [1.] God says to
the wicked, "Thou shalt surely die. The way that thou art in
leads to destruction. The wages of thy sin is death, and thy
iniquity will shortly be thy ruin." It was said to the righteous
man, Thou shalt surely live, for his encouragement to
proceed and persevere in the way of righteousness; but he made an
ill use of it, and was emboldened by it to commit iniquity. It was
said to the wicked man, Thou shalt surely die, for warning
to him not to persist in his wicked ways; and he makes a good use
of it, and is quickened thereby to return to God and duty. Thus
even the threatenings of the word are to some, by the grace of God,
a savour of life unto life, while even the promises of the word
become to others, by their own corruption, a savour of death unto
death. When God says to the wicked man, Thou shalt surely
die, die eternally, it is to frighten him, not out of his wits,
but out of his sins. [2.] There is many a wicked man who was
hastening apace to his own destruction who yet is wrought upon by
the grace of God to return and repent, and live a holy life. He
turns from his sin (v.
14), and is resolved that he will have no more to do
with it; and, as an evidence of his repentance for wrong done, he
restores the pledge (v.
15) which he had taken uncharitably from the poor, he
gives again that which he had robbed and taken unjustly from
the rich. Nor does he only cease to do evil, but he
learns to do well; he does that which is lawful and
right, and makes conscience of his duty both to God and man—a
great change, since, awhile ago, he neither feared God nor regarded
man. But many such amazing changes, and blessed ones, have been
wrought by the power of divine grace. He that was going on in the
paths of death and the destroyer now walks in the statues of
life, in the way of God's commandments, which has both life in
it (Prov. xii. 28) and life
at the end of it, Matt. xix.
17. And in this good way he perseveres without
committing iniquity, though not free from remaining infirmity,
yet under the dominion of no iniquity. He repents not of his
repentance, nor returns to the commission of those gross sins which
he before allowed himself in. [3.] He that does thus repent and
return shall escape the ruin he was running into, and his former
sins shall be no prejudice to his acceptance with God. Let him not
pine away in his iniquity, for, if he confess and forsake it, he
shall find mercy. He shall surely live; he shall not die,v. 15. Again
(v. 16), He
shall surely live. Again (v. 19), He has done that which is
lawful and right, and he shall live thereby. But will
not his wickednesses be remembered against him? No; he shall not be
punished for them (v.
12): As for the wickedness of the wicked, though
it was very heinous, yet he shall not fall thereby in the day
that he turns from his wickedness. Now that it has become his
grief it shall not be his ruin. Now that there is a settled
separation between him and sin there shall be no longer a
separation between him and God. Nay, he shall not be so much as
upbraided with them (v.
16): None of his sins that he has committed shall be
mentioned unto him, either as a clog to his pardon or an allay
to the comfort of it, or as any blemish and diminution to the glory
that is prepared for him.

Now lay all this together, and then judge
whether the way of the Lord be not equal, whether this will
not justify God in the destruction of sinners and glorify him in
the salvation of penitents. The conclusion of the whole matter is
(v. 20): "O you
house of Israel, though you are all involved now in the common
calamity, yet there shall be a distinction of persons made in the
spiritual and eternal state, and I will judge you every one
after his ways." Though they were sent into captivity by the
lump, good fish and bad enclosed in the same net, yet there he will
separate between the precious and the vile and will render to
every man according to his works. Therefore God's way is equal
and unexceptionable; but, as for the children of thy people,
God turns them over to the prophet, as he did to Moses (Exod. xxxii. 7): "They are thy people;
I can scarcely own them for mine." As for them, their way is
unequal; this way which they have got of quarrelling with God
and his prophets is absurd and unreasonable. In all disputes
between God and his creatures it will certainly be found that he is
in the right and they are in the wrong.

Message to Inhabitants of Judah; Rebuke to
the Proud Jews. (b. c. 587.)

21 And it came to pass in the twelfth year of
our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day
of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem
came unto me, saying, The city is smitten. 22 Now the hand
of the Lord was upon me in the
evening, afore he that was escaped came; and had opened my mouth,
until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I
was no more dumb. 23 Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 24 Son of man,
they that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel speak, saying,
Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many;
the land is given us for inheritance. 25 Wherefore say unto
them, Thus saith the Lord God; Ye
eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and
shed blood: and shall ye possess the land? 26 Ye stand upon
your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his
neighbour's wife: and shall ye possess the land? 27 Say thou
thus unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; As I live, surely they that
are in the wastes shall fall by the sword, and him that
is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be
devoured, and they that be in the forts and in the caves
shall die of the pestilence. 28 For I will lay the land most
desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease; and the
mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass
through. 29 Then shall they know that I am the Lord, when I have laid the land most
desolate because of all their abominations which they have
committed.

Here we have,

I. The tidings brought to Ezekiel of the
burning of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans. The city was burnt in the
eleventh year of the captivity and the fifth month, Jer. lii. 12, 13. Tidings hereof
were brought to the prophet by one that was an eye-witness of the
destruction, in the twelfth year, and the tenth month (v. 21), which was a year and
almost five months after the thing was done; we may well suppose
that, there being a constant correspondence at this time more than
ever kept up between Jerusalem and Babylon, he had heard the news
long before. But this was the first time he had an account of it
from a refugee, from one who escaped, who could be particular, and
would be pathetic, in the narrative of it. And the sign given him
was the coming of such a one to him as had himself narrowly escaped
the flames (ch. xxiv.
26): He that escapes in that day shall come unto
thee, to cause thee to hear it with thy ears, to hear it
more distinctly than ever, from one that could say, Quæque ipse
miserrima vidi—These miserable scenes I saw.

II. The divine impressions and influences
he was under, to prepare him for those heavy tidings (v. 22): The hand of the
Lord was upon me before he came, and had opened my mouth to
speak to the house of Israel what we had in the former part of this
chapter. And now he was no more dumb; he prophesied now with
more freedom and boldness, being by the event proved a true
prophet, to the confusion of those that contradicted him. All the
prophecies from ch. xxiv.
to this chapter have relation purely to the nations
about, it is probable that the prophet, when he received them from
the Lord, did not deliver them by word of mouth, but in writing;
for he could not Say to the Ammonites, Say unto Tyrus, Say unto
Pharaoh, &c., so and so, but by letters directed to the
persons concerned, as Zacharias, when he could not speak, wrote;
and herein he was as truly executing his prophetic office as ever.
Note, Even silenced ministers may be doing a great deal of good by
writing letters and making visits. But now the prophet's mouth
is opened, that he may speak to the children of his
people. It is probable that he had, during these three years,
been continually speaking to them as a friend, putting them in mind
of what he had formerly delivered to them, but that he never spoke
to them as a prophet, by inspiration, till now, when the hand of
the Lord came upon him, renewed his commission, gave him fresh
instructions, and opened his mouth, furnished him with power
to speak to the people as he ought to speak.

III. The particular message he was
entrusted with, relating to these Jews that yet remained in the
land of Israel, and inhabited the wastes of that
land, v. 24. See
what work sin had made. The cities of Israel had now become
the wastes of Israel, for they lay all in ruins; some few that had
escaped the sword and captivity still continued there and began to
think of re-settling. This was so long after the destruction of
Jerusalem that it was some time before this that Gedaliah (a modest
humble man) and his friends were slain; but probably at this time
Johanan, and the proud men that joined with him, were at the
height (Jer. xliii. 2); and
before they came to a resolution to go into Egypt, wherein Jeremiah
opposed them, it is probable that the project was to establish
themselves in the wastes of the land of Israel, in which Ezekiel
here opposed them, and probably despatched the message away by the
person that brought him the news of Jerusalem's destruction. Or,
perhaps, those here prophesied against might be some other party of
Jews, that remained in the land, hoping to take root there and to
be sole masters of it, after Johanan and his forces had gone into
Egypt. Now here we have,

1. An account of the pride of these
remaining Jews, who dwelt in the wastes of the land of
Israel. Though the providence of God concerning them had been very
humbling, and still was very threatening, yet they were intolerably
haughty and secure, and promised themselves peace. He that brought
the news to the prophet that Jerusalem was smitten could not tell
him (it is likely) what these people said, but God tells him,
They say, "The land is given us for inheritance, v. 24. Our partners being
gone, it is now all our own by survivorship, or, for want of heirs,
it comes to us as occupants; we shall now be placed alone in the
midst of the earth and have it all to ourselves." This argues great
stupidity under the weighty hand of God, and a reigning selfishness
and narrow-spiritedness; they pleased themselves in the ruin of
their country as long as they hoped to find their own account in
it, cared not though it were all waste, so that they might
have the sole property—a poor inheritance to be proud of! They
have the impudence to compare their case with Abraham's, glorying
in this, We have Abraham to our father. "Abraham," say they,
"was one, one family, and he inherited the land, and
lived many years in the peaceable enjoyment of it; but we are
many, many families, more numerous than he; the land is
given us for inheritance." (1.) They think they can make out as
good a title from God to this land as Abraham could: "If God
gave this land to him, who was but one worshipper of him, as
a reward of his service, much more will he give it to us, who are
many worshippers of him, as the reward of our service." This shows
the great conceit they had of the own merits, as if they were
greater than those of Abraham their father, who yet was not
justified by works. (2.) They think they can make good the
possession of this land against the Chaldeans and all others
invaders, as well as Abraham could against those that were
competitors with him for it: "If he, who was but one, could hold
it, much more shall we, who are many, and have many more at command
than his 300 trained servants." This shows the confidence
they had in their own might; they had got possession, and were
resolved to keep it.

2. A check to this pride. Since God's
providences did neither humble them nor terrify them, he sends them
a message sufficient to do both.

(1.) To humble them, he tells them of the
wickedness they still persisted in, which rendered them utterly
unworthy to possess this land, so that they could not expect God
should give it to them. They had been followed with one judgment
after another, but they had not profited by those means of grace as
might be expected; they were still unreformed, and how could they
expect that they should possess the land? "Shall you possess the
land? What! such wicked people as you are? How shall I put
thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land?Jer. iii. 19. Surely you
never reflect upon yourselves, else you would rather wonder that
you are in the land of the living than expect to possess this land.
For do you now know how bad you are?" [1.] "You make no conscience
of forbidden fruit, forbidden food: You eat with the blood,"
directly contrary to one of the precepts given to Noah and his sons
when God gave them possession of the earth, Gen. ix. 4. [2.] "Idolatry, that
covenant-breaking sin, that sin which the jealous God has been in a
particular manner provoked by to lay your country waste, is still
the sin that most easily besets you and which you have a strong
inclination to: You lift up your eyes towards your idols,
which is a sign that though perhaps you do not bow your knee to
them so much as you have done, yet you set your hearts upon them
and hanker after them." [3.] "You are as fierce, and cruel, and
barbarous as ever: You shed blood, innocent blood." [4.]
"You confide in your own strength, your own arm, your own bow, and
have no dependence on, or regard to, God and his providence: You
stand upon your sword (v.
26); you think to carry all before you, and make all
your own, by force of arms." How can those expect the inheritance
of Isaac (as these did) who are of Ishmael's disposition, that had
his hand against every man (Gen. xvi. 12), and Esau's resolution to
live by his sword? Gen. xxvii.
40. We met with those (ch. xxxii. 27) who, when they died,
thought they could not lie easy underground unless they had their
swords under their heads. Here we meet with those who, while they
live, think they cannot stand firmly above ground unless they have
their swords under their feet, as if swords were both the softest
pillows and the strongest pillars; though it was sin, it was sin,
that first drew the sword. But, blessed be God, there are those who
know better, who stand upon the support of the divine power and
promise and lay their heads in the bosom of divine love, not
trusting in their own sword, Ps.
xliv. 3. [5.] "You are guilty of all manner of
abominations, and, particularly, you defile every one his
neighbour's wife, which is an abomination of the first
magnitude, and shall you possess the land? What! such vile
miscreants as you?" Note, Those cannot expect to possess the
land, nor to enjoy any true comfort or happiness here or
hereafter, who live in rebellion against the Lord.

(2.) To terrify them, he tells them of the
further judgments God had in store for them, which should make them
utterly unable to possess this land, so that they could not stand
it out against the enemy. Do they say that they shall possess the
land? God has said they shall not, he has sworn it, As I live,
saith the Lord. Though he has sworn that he delights not in
the death of sinners, yet he has sworn also that those who
persist in impenitency and unbelief shall not enter into his
rest. [1.] Those that are in the cities, here called the
wastes, shall fall by the sword, either by the sword
of the Chaldeans, who come to avenge the murder of Gedaliah, or by
one another's swords, in their intestine broils. [2.] Those that
are in the open field shall be devoured by wild
beasts, which swarmed, of course, in the country when it was
dispeopled, and there were none to master them and keep them under,
Exod. xxiii. 29. When the
army of the enemy had quitted the country still there was no safety
in it. Noisome beasts constituted one of the four sore
judgments, ch. xiv.
15. [3.] Those that are in the forts and in the
caves, that think themselves safe in artificial or natural
fastnesses, because men's eyes cannot discover them nor men's darts
reach them, there the arrows of the Almighty shall find them out;
they shall die of the pestilence. [4.] The whole land, even
the land of Israel, that had been the glory of all lands, shall be
most desolate, v.
28. It shall be desolation, desolation, all over
as desolate as desolation itself can make it. The mountain of
Israel, the fruitful mountains, Zion itself the holy mountain
not excepted, shall be desolate, the roads unfrequented, the
houses uninhabited, that none shall pass through; as it was
threatened (Deut. xxviii.
62), You shall be left few in number. [5.] The
pomp of her strength, whatever she glories in as her pomp
and trusts to as her strength, shall be made to cease. [6.] The
cause of all this was very bad; it is for all their abominations
which they have committed. It is sin that does all this
mischief, that makes nations desolate; and therefore we ought to
call it an abomination. [7.] Yet the effect of all this will be
very good: Then shall they know that I am the Lord, am their
Lord, and shall return to their allegiance, when I have made the
land most desolate. Those are untractable unteachable indeed
that are not made to know their dependence upon God when all their
creature-comforts fail them and are made desolate.

Hypocritical Professions. (b. c. 587.)

30 Also, thou son of man, the children of thy
people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors
of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother,
saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh
forth from the Lord. 31 And
they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee
as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do
them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their
heart goeth after their covetousness. 32 And, lo, thou
art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a
pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear
thy words, but they do them not. 33 And when this cometh to
pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath
been among them.

The foregoing verses spoke conviction to the
Jews who remained in the land of Israel, who were monuments of
sparing mercy and yet returned not to the Lord; in these verses
those are reproved who were now in captivity in Babylon, under
divine rebukes, and yet were not reformed by them. They are not
indeed charged with the same gross enormities that the others are
charged with. They made some show of religion and devotion; but
their hearts were not right with God. The thing they are here
accused of is mocking the messengers of the lord, one of
their measure-filling sins, which brought this ruin upon them, and
yet they were not cured of it. Two ways they mocked the prophet
Ezekiel:—

I. By invidious ill natured reflections
upon him, privately among themselves, endeavouring by all means
possible to render him despicable. The prophet did not know it, but
charitably thought that those who spoke so well to him to his face,
with so much seeming respect and deference, would surely not speak
ill of him behind his back. But God comes and tells him, The
children of thy people are still talking against thee
(v. 30), or
talking of thee, no good, I doubt. Note, Public persons are
a common theme or subject of discourse; every one takes a liberty
to censure them at pleasure. Faithful ministers know not how much
ill is said of them every day; it is well that they do not; for, if
they did, it might prove a discouragement to them in their work not
to be easily got over. God takes notice of all that is said against
his ministers, not only what is decreed against them, or sworn
against them, not only what is written against them, or spoken with
solemnity and deliberation, but of what is said against them in
common talk, among neighbours when they meet in an evening, by
the walls and in the doors of their houses, where whatever
freedom of speech they use, if they reproach and slander any of
God's ministers, God will reckon with them for it; his prophets
shall not be made the song of the drunkards always. They had no
crime to lay to the prophet's charge, but they loved to talk of him
in a careless, scornful, bantering way; they said, jokingly,
"Come, and let us hear what is the word that comes forth from
the Lord; perhaps it will be something new, and will entertain
us, and furnish us with matter for discourse." Note, Those have
arrived as a great pitch of profaneness who can make so great a
privilege, and so great a duty, as the preaching and hearing of the
word of God, a matter of sport and ridicule, yea though it be not
done publicly, but in private conversation among themselves.
Serious things should be spoken of seriously.

II. By dissembling with him in their
attendance upon his ministry. Hypocrites mock God and mock his
prophets. But their hypocrisy is open before God, and the day is
coming when, as here, it will be laid open. Observe here,

1. The plausible profession which these
people made and the speciousness of their pretensions. They are
like those (Matt. xv. 8) who
draw nigh to God with their mouths and honour him with their
lips, but their hearts are far from him. (1.) They were
diligent and constant in their attendance upon the means of grace:
They come unto thee as the people come. In Babylon they had
no temple or synagogue, but they went to the prophet's house
(ch. viii. 1), and
there, it is probable, they spent their new moons and their
sabbaths in religious exercises, 2
Kings iv. 23. When the prophet was bound the word of the
Lord was not bound; and the people, when they had not the help for
their souls that they wished for, were thankful for what they had;
it was a reviving in their bondage. Now these hypocrites came,
according to the coming of the people, as duly and as early
as any of the prophet's hearers. Their being said to come as the
people came seems to intimate that the reason why they came was
because other people came; they did not come out of conscience
towards God, but only for company, for fashion-sake, and because it
was now the custom of their countrymen. Note, Those that have no
inward principle of love to God's ordinances may yet be found much
in the external observance of them. Cain brought his sacrifice as
well as Abel; and the Pharisee went up to the temple to pray as
well as the publican. (2.) They behaved themselves very decently
and reverently in the public assembly; there were none of them
whispering, or laughing, or gazing about them, or sleeping. But
they sit before thee as my people, with all the shows of
gravity, and sereneness, and composure of mind. They sit out the
time, without weariness, or wishing the sermon done. (3.) They were
very attentive to the word preached: "They are not thinking of
something else, but they hear thy words, and take notice of
what thou sayest." (4.) They pretended to have a great kindness and
respect for the prophet. Though, behind his back, they could not
give him a good word, yet, to his face, they showed much
love to him and his doctrine; they pretended to have a great
concern lest he should spend himself too much in preaching or
expose himself to the Chaldeans, for they would be thought to be
some of his best friends and well-wishers. (5.) They took a great
deal of pleasure in the word; they delighted to know God's
word, Isa. lviii. 2.
Herod heard John Baptist gladly, Mark vi. 20. Thou art unto them as a very
lovely song. Ezekiel's matter was surprising, his language
fine, his expressions elegant, his similitudes apt, his voice
melodious, and his delivery graceful; so that they could sit with
as much pleasure to hear him preach as (if I may speak in the
language of our times) to see a play or an opera, or to hear a
concert of music. Ezekiel was to them as one that had a pleasant
voice and could sing well, or play well on an
instrument. Note, Men may have their fancies pleased by the
word, and yet not have their consciences touched nor their hearts
changed, the itching ear gratified and yet not the corrupt nature
sanctified.

2. The hypocrisy of these professions and
pretensions; it is all a sham, it is all a jest. (1.) They have no
cordial affection for the word of God. While they show much
love it is only with the mouth, from the teeth outward,
but their heart goes after their covetousness; they are as
much set upon the world as ever, as much in love and league with it
as ever. Hearing the word is only their diversion and recreation, a
pretty amusement now and then for an hour or two. But still their
main business is with their farm and merchandise; the bent and bias
of their souls are towards them, and their inward thoughts
are employed in projects about them. Note, Covetousness is the
ruining sin of multitudes that make a great profession of religion;
it is the love of the world that secretly eats the love of God out
of their hearts. The cares of this world and the
deceitfulness of riches are the thorns that choke the
seed, and choke the soul too. And those neither please God nor
profit themselves who, when they are hearing the word of God, are
musing upon their worldly affairs. God has his eye on the hearts
that do so. (2.) They yield no subjection to it. They hear thy
words, but it is only a hearing that they give thee, for
they will not do them, v. 31. And again (v. 32), they do them not. They
will not be persuaded by all the prophet can say, either by
authority or argument, to cross themselves in any instance, to part
with any one beloved sin, or apply themselves to any one duty that
is against the grain to flesh and blood. Note, There are many who
take pleasure in hearing the word, but make no conscience of doing
it; and so they build upon the sand, and deceive themselves.

3. Let us see what will be in the end
hereof: Shall their unbelief and carelessness make the
word of God of no effect? By no means. (1.) God will confirm
the prophet's word, though they contemn it, and make light of it,
v. 33. What he says
will come to pass, and not one jot or one tittle shall fall to the
ground. Note, The curses of the law, though they may be bantered by
profane wits, cannot be baffled. (2.) They themselves shall rue
their folly when it is too late. When it comes to pass they
shall know, shall know to their cost, know to their confusion,
that a prophet has been among them, though they made no more
of him than as one that had a pleasant voice. Note, Those
who will not consider that a prophet is among them, and who improve
not the day of their visitation while it is continued, will be made
to remember that a prophet has been among them when the things that
belong to their peace are hidden from their eyes. The day is
coming when vain and worldly men will have other thoughts of things
than now they have, and will feel a weight in that which they made
light of. They shall know that a prophet has been among them
when they see the event exactly answer the prediction, and the
prophet himself shall be a witness against them that they had fair
warning given them, but would not take it. When Ezekiel is gone,
whom now they speak against, and there is no more any
prophet, nor any to show them how long, then they will
remember that once they had a prophet, but knew not how to use him
well. Note, Those who will not know the worth of mercies by the
improvement of them will justly be made to know the worth of them
by the want of them, as those who should desire to see one of the
days of the Son of man, which now they slighted, and might not see
it.